Robert Wright

Robert Wright is a journalist, scholar, and author whose work explores the intersection of evolutionary psychology, philosophy, history, religion, and global affairs. Wright attended Texas Christian University before transferring to Princeton University, where he studied sociobiology and graduated summa cum laude. This academic background shaped a career focused on intellectual inquiry across multiple disciplines.

Wright has held senior editorial positions, including senior editor at The Sciences and The New Republic, and has contributed to The Atlantic, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Foreign Policy, Time, Slate, as well as the op-ed pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Financial Times.

Wright is the author of several New York Times bestselling books, including "The Evolution of God" (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), "Nonzero," "The Moral Animal" (named one of the ten best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review), "Three Scientists and Their Gods" (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award), and "Why Buddhism Is True." In "The Moral Animal," Wright examines Darwinian explanations for human behavior, psychology, social dynamics, and relationships. "Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny" was recognized as a New York Times Book Review Notable Book and was included by Fortune magazine among the 75 smartest business-related books of all time. "Nonzero" was also recommended by former President Bill Clinton to White House staff members.

Wright's book "Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment" combines evolutionary psychology with neuroscience to analyze the core claims of Buddhist philosophy. In this work, Wright investigates a secular, Westernized form of Buddhism, focusing on mindfulness meditation and arguing that Buddhism's diagnosis of human suffering is supported by evolutionary biology and psychology. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages, and two have achieved New York Times bestseller status.

Wright has taught at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania, leading seminars on religion, human nature, and the evolution of religion. He has served as a Laurence S. Rockefeller Visiting Fellow, co-teaching with Peter Singer on the biological basis of moral intuition, and as a Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York. His column "The Information Age" for The Sciences won the National Magazine Award for Essay and Criticism.

In addition to his work in academia and journalism, Wright has contributed to digital media as co-founder and editor-in-chief of Bloggingheads.tv, founder and editor-in-chief of Meaningoflife.tv, and founder and chief correspondent of the Nonzero Newsletter. His podcast, formerly known as The Wright Show, was rebranded as "Robert Wright's Nonzero." The Nonzero Newsletter provides analysis and reporting on global challenges, world affairs, domestic politics, and the psychological and technological forces shaping society.